Hear Me
by ForbiddenxMelody
Summary: He was my first boyfriend, and things were going great, but we all know that great things don't last forever. Lots of stuff happened in my past, in Tennessee. JILEY. First few chapters are in the past. COMPLETE!
1. Why Is He Here?

Chapter 1: Why is He Here?

Miley's POV

I knew things were going to be different when I saw him walk into Mr. Corelli's classroom for the first time. It was like I literally felt everything change. Why was he here anyways? Shouldn't he be at a studio shooting a TV show, commercial, photo shoot, something?! His sudden appearance wouldn't be a problem if I hadn't known him in the first place.

Flashback: (still Miley's POV)

I live in Nashville, Tennessee with my mom, Carolina, my dad, Robbie Ray, and my older brother, Jackson. Jackson and me go to Oak Ridge Middle School. I'm in sixth grade and he's in eighth. I don't really have a best friend, but I'm acquainted with most people in my classes. After school, Jackson and me walked home from school like always. We live pretty close to school.

"Hey kids!" mom and Aunt Dolly greeted us from the kitchen when we walked inside. My mom is awesome, she's really nice, and funny, and she's the best at singing. Everyone in my family calls me her mini me because I look and act just like her. Aunt Dolly was almost always here. Her house, like the school, was close by. Luckily, my evil cousin Luann lives on the other side of town. When we were four, she pushed me down a well. Jackson is the only one who really believes me when I say she's evil.

"Hi mom, hi Aunt Dolly!" Jackson and me returned the greeting. The two of us went upstairs to our rooms and did our homework. 30 minutes later, I was done with my homework and went downstairs.

"I'm bored," I say to mom and Aunt Dolly, who where still in the kitchen. I took a seat at the small table that was in the kitchen. Mom pulled some cookies out of the oven and set them to cool.

"Why don't you join an after school club or something?" mom suggested.

"You know, our family has a knack for singing," Aunt Dolly says.

"Mmm… do I smell cookies?!" my dad shouts as he enters the house.

"Daddy!" I squeal. I ran over to him and gave him a hug.

"Hey bud," dad said. We both walked over to the kitchen.

"Hey Honey," mom said to dad as we enter the kitchen.

"Hi Robbie," Aunt Dolly said.

"Hey darling," dad said gave mom a kiss on the cheek. "Hey Dolly," he added and gave her a hug. "What's going on?"

"We were just suggesting that Miley should join her school's choir," Aunt Dolly said.

"Hey, that's a great idea! You know Miles, our family has a knack for singing," dad says.

"So I've heard," I grinned.

The next day, I signed up for the after school choir. They had a small group, only around 10 students. I didn't know any of them. I stayed for practice; it was fun. Mrs. Henderson, the instructor said I had a nice voice. After practice, I went to the front of the school, and by surprise, I saw Jackson there.

"Hey sis," he greeted me.

"Hey Jackson, why didn't mom or Aunt Dolly pick me up?" I ask.

"They didn't want to," Jackson said, but when he saw the hurt expression on my face, he hung his arm around my shoulder and said, "just kidding Miles."

We walk over to his bike. He sat on the seat and I put my feet on the axel pegs on the back and wrapped my arms over his shoulders.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," I reply. He started pedaling on the pedals and we were home in less than a minute.

When we got inside, mom, dad, and Aunt Dolly were in the kitchen talking as usual.

"Hi Miley, how was choir?" Aunt Dolly asked me.

"It was great, I had fun."

"That's good," dad said.

It continued like that for the next few weeks, go to choir, have Jackson pick me up in his bike, until one Monday when Jackson and me were walking into school. Jackson and me always hang out together before schools starts. He's a great brother, he could hang out with his friends, but he chooses to hang out with me.

"What's that?" Jackson asks as he notices that there is a new flyer posted up in the bulletin board.

"School Musical," I read. "All students in drama and choir are welcome to participate. Auditions are on Friday after school in the auditorium. Students trying out are required to sing a song of there choice."

"Cool," Jackson says. "Are you going to try out?"

"Yeah, why not? It sounds fun," I reply and dug a pen out of my messenger bag. I looked at the sign up sheet; it had a few names already. I found the next empty spot on the list and put my name there.

"What song would you sing?" Jackson asks.

"I don't know…" I reply.

A/N: What do you think? I got the idea randomly the other day and typed it up. Please review, I'll post the next chapter sooner and don't worry, you'll see how Jake fits into Miley's past in the next chapter.


	2. Science Project

Chapter 2: Science Project

(Still Flashback)

The next day was a Tuesday. I had still no idea what to sing for the auditions as I walked to science class.

"Good morning class, take your seats," Mr. Bender, my science teacher, said. Those who were standing sat down. "We are starting a project today." Some groans were heard from the some kids. "You will be working with partners." Almost immediately, kids started whispering to each other and making hand gestures, as if asking to partner up, I wasn't one of them. "So I'll give you a minute to pick your partner and then I'll explain the project."

After he said that, kids sprang from their desks and paired up with their best friend. I don't have a best friend, so when it comes to partners, I just wait for the person who wasn't partnered, or work alone. Today though, every student is here, all 22 of us, so I guess I won't work alone this time.

"Hi Miley," said a shy familiar voice from behind me. I turned to saw Jacob Ryan. He was in half of my classes and he's a good person. He isn't a popular kid or a nerd; he was a… regular, like me.

"Hi Jacob," I greeted.

"Do you want to be partners?" he asked, nervously running his hand through his shaggy blonde hair.

"Sure!" I replied, a little to enthusiastically. I never get asked to partner up! Jacob took a seat behind me, and soon, Mr. Bender called for the class's attention.

"Okay kids, now that you're all partnered up, I will explain the assignment." The class grew quiet and Mr. Bender spoke again. "We will be doing an egg drop experiment. You and your partner will create a way to drop an egg with out it breaking or getting any cracks. On Friday, you or your partner will bring what you have created to school. You guys have the rest of the week in class to work on it, but I recommend you get together after school sometime before it's due so you can work together, because I don't allow eggs or your creations in the classroom before the due date. On Friday, we will meet here, then go outside to test them. So go ahead and get started."

"So Miley, do you want to get together after school?" Jacob asked, a little less nervous than before when he asked her to be his partner.

"I can't, I have choir practice," I say.

"I know. I have drama club. We get out at the same time, so we can meet up then."

"Okay, do you want to go to my house? It's really close to school," I asked.

"Yeah, if that's okay with you," says Jacob.

"Alright then, after your drama practice, meet me at the front of the school," I say.

"Okay," Jacob says as the bell rings. The class leaves and I walk by myself to lunch. I went to my usual table and pulled out my home lunch, soon to be greeted by Jackson, who surprisingly has the same lunch shift as me.

"Hey sis."

"Hi Jackson," I reply. Jackson pulled out his own lunch and sat down across from me. "Today in science, we got an project with partners, and Jacob asked me to be his partner!"

"Ooo, someone likes Jacob," Jackson says jokingly.

"No, I don't Jackson!" I say and playfully kick him under the table.

"Oww!" he pretended like it hurt which made us start laughing.

"Anyways, I don't like him, I'm just glad that someone asked me to partner up with them," I say. "We're meeting up after I get out of choir."

"So I'm guessing you don't want me to come on the bike?" Jackson asks.

"No, I want you to come, but probably not on the bike, because Jacob is coming to our house and the bike is more a you me- two people thing," I correct.

"Alright," he says. We got dismissed from lunch and threw away our trash.

"I'll see you after choir then," Jackson says.

"See ya," I say and head in the opposite direction, to my next class.


	3. Nightmares

Chapter 3: Nightmares

(Still Flashback)

After choir practice, I went to the front of the school as usual and met up with Jackson. Today, he didn't bring his bike.

"Hey, Miles," Jackson greeted.

"Hi Jackson."

"So, we are meeting Jacob here?"

"Yeah, there he is," I motioned my head to the kid walking towards us.

"Hi Jacob," I greeted.

"Hi Miley," he responded.

"This is my older brother, Jackson," I say. After the guys exchanged their hellos, we walked to Jackson and mines house.

"We're home!" I called as we walked inside. Mom and Aunt Dolly came over to greet us.

"Hi Miley, hi Jackson," mom greeted us. "Who's this?"

"This is Jacob, him and me have a science project and he is my partner," I explain.

"Hello Jacob, I'm Miley's mom," mom said.

"Hi," Jacob greeted.

"And this is her Aunt Dolly," mom said motioning to Aunt Dolly.

"Hi Jacob, it's nice to meet you" Aunt Dolly said.

"Hi," Jacob said once again.

"Hey kids," dad said as he walked inside the house.

"Hi daddy," Jackson and me said.

"Dad, this is Jacob, he is my partner for a science project," I say.

"Hey Jacob," dad greeted.

"Hello," Jacob said.

"We have to get to work on our project now, we'll be down later," I say and head upstairs with Jacob and Jackson in tow.

Once we got upstairs Jackson said, "I have to get started on my homework, I'll see you guys later." And went to his room. Jacob and me went to my room. I kicked off my shoes and took off my messenger bag. Jacob followed my lead and took off his shoes and backpack.

"Do you have any ideas for the project?" I ask.

"I do have one," Jacob said. "We could fill a container with water until it's filled to the top, then put the egg in and put the lid on, that way there isn't any air in it."

"Let's try that then," I reply. The rest of the time we took notes and designed the project.

"Next time, we'll test it," I say.

"Okay, what about next time you come to my house?" Jacob asked.

"Sure," I replied.

The next day after choir, Jacob and me went to his house. His mom picked us up with her car. She was very nice, and so was his dad. Jacob and me tested the experiment and it work! I think we're going to do well on the project

"Bud, turn out the lights, it's bedtime!" dad called from his and mom's room.

It's late Thursday night… well, morning. It's midnight. Tomorrow is the audition and I know exactly what I'm going to sing. I walked over to my door and turned off my light, got into bed, and fell asleep.

"_Miley Stewart," Mr. Thompson called. I nervously got up and sung my song._

"_What was that piece of the garbage!" he bellowed._

"_I…I…" I stuttered._

"_Get off my stage!" he yelled. "You could never be in this musical!" _

I jumped up, panting. I looked at the time, 3:45. I got up and walked to Jackson's room, like I do every time I have a nightmare. I got to his bed and shook his shoulder.

"Jackson, I had a nightmare."

He slowly opened his eyes and sat up. He patted the spot next to him. "What happened?"

I sat next to him and explained. "I was auditioning for the musical and did horrible and I didn't make it."

"Mile, you know you have a great voice, you are going to do great tomorrow and I'll be there for you. Now come on, let's get some sleep," he rolled over and made room for me to lie down. Afraid to go back to my room, I laid down and fell asleep.


	4. Auditions

Chapter 4: Auditions

(Still Flashback)

The next day in science class, we went outside the school building. Another science teacher, who apparently wasn't teaching the class period, was on the second floor balcony, which was accessible from the teacher's lounge. She was dropping our projects. Jacob and me were standing next to each other, waiting for our project to drop. After about half the projects were tested, we saw our container in the teacher's hands. She let go of it and it fell to the ground. Mr. Bender went over to it and picked it up.

"Who's is this," he asked like every time. Jacob and me each raise our hands. Mr. Bender opened the container and pulled out the wet egg. He checked for cracks. When he finished inspecting it, he said, "A."

In the spur of the moment, I squealed, and Jacob and me hugged. We quickly pulled away, both blushing, once realizing what we just did.

"So…" I said trying to break the awkward silence that had become.

"So," Jacob said, not knowing what to talk about.

"We got an A," I said.

"Yeah," he said.

That oh-so-important conversation was over when the rest of the projects were dropped and class was over. I walked to lunch with Jacob for some reason, and for the first time, he sat with Jackson and me.

"So, how did you guys do on the egg drop experiment?" Jackson asked during lunch.

"We got an A," I inform him.

"Cool, good job."

As the tables were dismissed later, Jacob and me said are goodbyes to Jackson and walked to our next class.

The rest of the day passed by pretty fast, today I noticed that Jacob was in every one of my classes expect my second and last class. Now, it was time for the musical auditions, and I have to admit that I'm getting nervous.

I sat down close to some girls from choir, but I saved a spot next to me for Jackson. He wasn't auditioning, he was here to support me like always.

"Hey Miles," Jackson greeted me.

"Hey," I reply and take my bag off the seat I was saving for him.

"Excuse me students," Mr. Thompson said, standing up from the front row and turning behind him. Mr. Thompson was the director of the music and arts program at the school. The auditorium became quiet, it was mostly empty because the only the students auditioning or watching were here.

He continued. "Today we are doing auditions for the musical "School Dance." It is about a girl, Julie, and a boy, Daniel. They both like each other, and then Julie asks Daniel to the dance. We will get for into detail after auditions. First up, Gina Williams."

Gina went up and sung her song. After her, more students sung their songs. Every time it was time for someone to go up and sing, I got nervous not knowing if the student would be me.

"Miley Stewart," Mr. Thompson called.

"Don't worry Miley, you'll do great," Jackson whispered. I nervously got up and walked up to the stage. I inhaled deeply, then exhaled and began to sing.

_Grew up in a small town  
And when the rain would fall down  
I'd just stare out my window  
Dreaming of what could be  
And if I'd end up happy  
I would pray_

_Trying hard to reach out  
But when I tried to speak out  
Felt like no one could hear me  
Wanted to belong here  
But something felt so wrong here  
So I prayed I could break away_

_I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly  
I'll do what it takes til' I touch the sky  
And I'll make a wish  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway  
Out of the darkness and into the sun  
But I won't forget all the ones that I love  
I'll take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway_

_Wanna feel the warm breeze  
Sleep under a palm tree  
Feel the rush of the ocean  
Get onboard a fast train  
Travel on a jet plane, far away  
And breakaway_

_Buildings with a hundred floors  
Swinging around revolving doors  
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me but  
Gotta keep moving on, moving on  
Fly away, breakaway_

_I'll spread my wings  
And I'll learn how to fly  
Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye  
I gotta take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway  
Out of the darkness and into the sun  
But I won't forget the place I come from  
I gotta take a risk  
Take a chance  
Make a change  
And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway_

Mr. Thompson looked amazed, but he wasn't aloud to choose the cast yet; we had to wait until Monday morning. So Mr. Thompson said, "next!" I scurried down stage I got back to my seat.

"You did awesome!" Jackson says in a loud whisper.

"Thanks," I whisper back and then turn my attention to the next person walking on stage. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Jacob on the stage. I didn't know he was here! I mean, of course he could audition since he is in drama and all, but I didn't expect it. I listened closely as he started to sing.

_What day is it? And in what month?  
This clock never seemed so alive  
I can't keep up and I can't back down  
I've been losing so much time_

_Cause it's you and me and all other people with nothing to do  
Nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all other people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you_

_All of the things that I want to say just aren't coming out right  
I'm tripping on words  
You've got my head spinning  
I don't know where to go from here_

_Cause it's you and me and all other people with nothing to do  
Nothing to prove  
And it's you and me and all other people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you_

_There's something about you now  
I can't quite figure out  
Everything she does is beautiful  
Everything she does is right_

_Cause it's you and me and all other people with nothing to do  
Nothing to lose  
And it's you and me and all other people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you  
and me and all other people with nothing to do  
Nothing to prove  
And it's you and me and all other people  
And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you_

_What day is it?  
And in what month?  
This clock never seemed so alive_

_He was looking at me the entire time he was singing. It made me feel butterflies in my stomach. He's a really good singer._

"Next," called Mr. Thompson afterwards.

Jacob walked off stage and went back to his seat. I don't think I'm going to be able to survive the weekend because I can't wait till Monday!!!

A/N: What do you guys think? I picked "Breakaway" for Miley, because if you don't know, the title of this story "Hear Me" is the title of a Kelly Clarkson song, so for Miley, I kinda have a Kelly theme. I picked "You and Me" for Jacob because I was just listening to it and I thought it would be sweet.


	5. I Like You!

Chapter 5: I Like You!

"Come on Miley! Slow down!" Jackson called as we ran into school. Slow down? Please, like I'm going to slow down, it's Monday morning and I have to see the list. When Jackson and me got to the door to the music room, we saw a piece of paper. I scanned the paper for my name, which didn't take long because I'm going to play Julie!

"I got the part!" I squealed. Jackson and me hugged and then I looked at the rest of the list. Jacob was going to play Daniel! This is going to be fun.

At choir, Mrs. Henderson made an announcement. "Since most of you are participating in the school musical, we won't be having choir practice until after the musical."

After school, I would go to "School Dance" rehearsals. Jackson would still pick me up on the bike.

One day, after I finished my homework and went downstairs. Mom and dad were in the kitchen and Aunt Dolly was in the living room watching TV.

"Aunt Dolly?" I ask as I enter the living room.

"Yeah Miles?" she said as she lowered the TV's volume and I sat next to her.

"I wanna be a singer," I state.

"You know sweetie, the chances of that happening are 1 in a million," she said with a sad expression.

I wasn't going to give up that easily. "Well I wanna be that 1," I said.

Aunt Dolly smiled. "Robbie, Carol!" she called. The two walked into the room. "What is it?" they asked.

"Miley here says she wants to be a singer."

Mom and dad smiled. I felt like they all knew something that I didn't.

"I'll call Tim," dad finally announced after the silence, and walked out of the room.

"Who?" I asked mom and Aunt Dolly.

"Tim Stevenson is an old friend of ours," mom said. "He works for a record company."

"And maybe he can help you become a singer," Aunt Dolly says.

"This is so awesome!" I squeal and hug both mom and Aunt Dolly. "Thank you thank you thank you!" I said to them.

The next day at rehearsal, we were practicing the slow dance scene. I was still excited about becoming a singer, and it didn't take Jacob long to notice.

"Why are you so excited today?" he asked during a break.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone," I said and held up my pinky.

"A pinky swear? Isn't that a little babyish?" Jacob asked.

"Fine," I said, and then spit into my palm. I held out my hand for Jacob to shake it.

"Never mind" Jacob said quickly and held out his pinky.

"Nope, too late for that," I grinned. Jacob hesitated, but then spit into his hand and shook with me.

"Okay, my dad talked to one of his old friends that works for a record company, and… I might become a singer!"

"That's awesome Miley," Jacob said and congratulated me with a hug.

My excitement wore off the next day when I saw Jacob talking to Jennifer from our Language Arts class. I felt jealousy rise in me and I walked away from them, to first period, which was unfortunately language arts. I came in and took a seat at my desk. A minute later, Jacob and Jennifer came in.

"Hey Miley," Jacob greeted and sat to the desk at my left. I ignored his greeting. "Miles, are you okay?" he asks. Still, I ignore him. Jacob probably would have continued to question me if Mr. James, the language arts teacher, didn't start class.

"Good morning class," Ms. James said. "Today, in pairs, you will read the short story on page 556 in your textbooks." Jacob pushed his desk to mine.

"Why don't you work with _Jennifer_?" I said.

Jacob look confused. "Huh?"

"Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I saw you two talking in the hall this morning."

Before Jacob had the chance to say anything, Ms. James spoke.

"Can I have two volunteers to send this to Mrs. Rogers in the front officer?" she asked.

Jacob shoot his hand up and said, "me and Miley will take it!"

Ms. James looked a bit shocked of his outburst, but said, "alright." I didn't want to argue in front of the class, so Jacob moved his desk back and got the note. When we got down the hall, Jacob stopped.

"Alright, what's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"Well, I think you're jealous because you saw me talking to Jennifer this morning."

I didn't respond.

"You are jealous!" he said. I still didn't say anything.

"Newsflash Miley Stewart, I don't like Jennifer. She was asking me about last night's homework assignment… and…"

"And what?" I asked. By now my cheeks were bright pink with embarrassment.

"I like you!" Jacob said as loud as he could without disturbing the classes.

"Me?" I asked in shock.

"Yeah," Jacob says softly. Before I knew it, I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him into a short kiss. We pulled apart, this time, both blushing.

"I think we should get this note to the office now," I said.

A/N: Hey peoples, there's chapter 5 for ya. For the people who are reading this, what did ya think of Friday's new episode?


	6. Hospitals

Chapter 6: Hospitals

Before I knew it, it was the day of the musical. Jacob and me had gotten together the day we took that note to the office. He's my first boyfriend, and recently, he revealed that I was his first girlfriend. Right now, I'm backstage getting ready for the musical to begin. Jackson is in the front row saving mom, dad, and Aunt Dolly's seats.

"Miley, it's almost time for your next scene," Lisa said as she poked her head into the room.

"Okay," I said and got up from my seat. I walked over to the side of the stage and waited for my cue.

"No guys, I don't think I'm going to the dance. I don't have anyone to go with," Jacob said, playing his character Daniel. He was talking to a group of 3 other guys who were playing his friends. That was my cue.

I walked over to them. "Daniel, if you don't have anyone to go with, do you wanna go with me?" I asked. I was playing Julie. A girl who was brave and independent enough to ask him in front of his friends like it's no big deal.

"Sure," he responded.

"I'll talk to ya later," I said, and walked off stage.

"Bye," he called, and went to the next scene.

Eventually, we got to the ballroom scene. There had been a few singing scenes before that. As Jacob and me danced, I took glances out to the crowd watching. For some reason, I wasn't that nervous. I grew worried when I saw that mom, dad, and Aunt Dolly hadn't shown up yet.

"I'm glad we went to the dance together," Jacob said.

"Me too Daniel," I said, and as rehearsed, we kissed. People would automatically think it's a stage kiss, but they wouldn't know I'm kissing my boyfriend.

After the musical, some people congratulated me for my job well done. Some unfamiliar person was talking to Jacob. When I met up with Jackson, he was as clueless as to where mom, dad, and Aunt Dolly were as me. So we walked home, it was very cloudy and the streets were wet and had puddles. It looked like it had rained, and it was going to rain again.

"Mom? Dad?" Jackson and me called as we entered the house. "Aunt Dolly?" No lights were on, and it was cloudy outside, which made the house dark. We went to the kitchen and turned on the light. Once the room lit up, the yellow sticky note on the counter was very noticeable.

_mom in crash went to hospital _

You could tell it was written in a hurry. The words were written in chicken scratch and dad didn't put a coma between crash and went. But, when you're in an emergency, you don't have time. As you can tell, I'm not freaking out or anything. That's because this newly acquired information hasn't exactly sunken in yet. My mind was saying that this had to be a joke. My heart knew that that wasn't the true. I'm just staring blankly at the note, and so was Jackson, until he got to the phone.

"I'll call dad," he said quietly. Jackson dialed dad's cell phone number and waited for him to pick. We started to hear a ringing coming upstairs. I guess he was in such a hurry, that he forgot his cell phone. Jackson hung up and dialed in another number, which I assume is Aunt Dolly's cell phone number. After half a minute, he hung up.

"Voicemail," he muttered.

"The hospital is only half a mile away; lets take the bike," I suggest.

"We don't have enough time to take the bike out of the garage, lets run, we have to hurry!" he said. So we ran out the house and slammed the door behind us. We ran down the sidewalk, and sometime before we got there, it started to rain. We got inside the hospital soaked, and it was then when I realize that my mom has in the hospital. I mean, I knew it before, but now, my stomach is filled with worriment and my heart is beating fast. We ran to the front desk of the hospital.

"Carolina Stewart?" Jackson asked.

"Third floor," the lady said, and with that, we ran quickly to the elevator and pushed the button to the third floor. You would think that I'm tired, but right now, I can't even noticed. When the doors opened, we ran to the desk.

"Carolina Stewart?" Jackson asked once again, but to a different receptionist.

"Room 321," the receptionist said. We ran towards her room and saw dad and Aunt Dolly sitting on a bench outside the room.

"What happened?!" Jackson and me asked in unison.

"Kids what are you doing here?" dad asked.

"We came to see mom," I replied.

"What happened?" Jackson asked again.

"Your mom was in a car crash this afternoon. I got a call from the hospital around 4, so Dolly and me went straight here. We haven't been able to see her yet; the doctors are doing some tests right now, so we have been waiting," dad responded. Jackson and me silently sat down, and a few minutes later, the doctors came out.

"You can see her now, but please, one at a time," he said.

Dad went in first, then Aunt Dolly, and then Jackson. Now, it was my turn, which I had been avoiding. I'm afraid to see my mom in the hospital room. Jackson came out and I went in. She was sleeping, so that's probably why dad, Aunt Dolly, and Jackson weren't in here very long. Mom's face was pale and the room was silent except for the heart monitor and the rain from outside.

"Hey mom," I say, even thought she was sleeping. I couldn't bear to looking at her so I just stared out the window, watching the rain fall outside. "You're really scaring us. Dad and Aunt Dolly and Jackson and me are real worried."

"Hey Smiley," mom said quietly, saying my old nickname.

"Mom," I whisper. I walked over to her and give her a light hug, afraid I would hurt her, because she looked so fragile. As if one simple touch would make her fall to pieces.

"I'm sorry I missed your musical today," mom said. How could she be thinking of something so insignificant compared to this right now?!

"Mom, it's okay, it doesn't matter," I said.

"Just remember Mile, you're an amazing person, and don't let anyone tell you different," mom said. By now, I had tears streaming down my face. "I'm gonna miss you so much Miley. I love you," she said before closing her eyes.

"What do you mean you gonna miss me?! You're not going anywhere mommy!" I cried right before the heart monitor made a long beep. Doctors rushed into the room and I got out.

I will _never_ forget this next moment. One of the doctors came out and dared to utter those painfully words, "I'm sorry, she didn't make it."

A/N: Hey peoples, this chapter was hard to write because nothing like that had ever happened to me, so I tried my best. I probably made some mistakes on how a hospital runs, but once again, I tried. I probably won't be updated my stories soon because final exams are next week, but I hope to have the next chapter up next weekend.


	7. Because of You

Chapter 7: Because of You

It's Monday now. It still seemed so unreal that my mother, Carolina Stewart, was… dead. I would still go downstairs to the kitchen, expecting to see my mom, but then see no one. Everyone in my family had a different way of dealing with her death. Dad for instance, is never home anymore. He takes a double shift at his job. Aunt Dolly hasn't come over since Friday. Jackson is always in his room watching TV. I am always in my room also. I rarely talk anymore, not that there's a point. Dad and Aunt Dolly are never here, and Jackson is always in his room.

I just got out of choir practice. Yes, I went to school. Dad wants it to be as normal as possible. Well, that's what he said when he was actually home. I headed to the front of the school to meet up with Jackson, but he didn't show up like he usually did. I guess I'm walking home.

Of course, Jacob had noticed my change the weekend after the musical. I was wearing all black today, instead of my colorful ones. I didn't talk much, and when he would ask me what's wrong, I would just ignore him. Eventually, at lunch, Jackson told him what happened. Jacob didn't ask what was wrong anymore.

XXXXXXXXXX 

It's been a month since mom died. Her funeral was two weeks ago, and even Luann was sad.

_Flashback _

We were at mom's funeral. We kept it private, family only. Luann came up to me, wearing a black dress identical to mine. This was one of those moments when Luann and I can be mistaken for each other. We stared at each other for a minute, without having to say anything she pulled me into a hug. We stayed in that position, both crying. This time was the first time I saw her really cry. Others times, were the crocodile tears she used to convince our parents that she didn't mean to push me into the well.

Now, I'm attaching my blonde wig to my hair with bobby pins. Dad didn't like the idea of me getting attacked by news crews. I mean, who would? So I designed a new image and name, Hannah Montana. Hannah was mom's middle name. Great, now I'm going to cry. I can't cry or my mascara will run. That's right, I'm wearing makeup. Aunt Dolly said there would be less chances of someone recognizing my face.

The car ride was silent as dad drove Aunt Dolly, Jackson, and me to the recording studio. When we got there someone greeted us.

"Hey Robbie Ray," the man said, shaking dad's hand, then Aunt Dolly's, then Jackson's.

"Hello Ms. Montana," he said holding out his hand. "I'm Tim Stevenson."

"Hello Mr. Stevenson," I said, and shook his hand. He led us to a lobby inside the building.

"I'm going to need the rest of you all to stay here and wait," Tim said.

"Oh, all right," dad said. Tim led me down a hall and into another room.

"This is the recording studio," he said. Then he pointed to the other part of the room, where there was a glass wall, which I was guessing was sound proof. Inside, was a tall wooden stool and a microphone hanging in front of it. Outside the sound proof room was a large desk with to chairs by it. On the desk was a soundboard. "That is were where you're going to sing."

"Hello Tim, Hannah," a man said while walking in. "Hannah, I'm Marty Cline. I used to be your dad's manager.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Cline," I said.

"So let's get started now," Marty Cline said, and opened the door leading into soundproof room. "What sound are you going to sing?" he asked.

"Because of You by Kelly Clarkson," I replied, and walked into the room.

"Here Hannah," Tim handed me a pair of headphones.

"Thanks Mr. Stevenson," I said, taking them from him.

"Please, call me Tim."

"All right, Tim" I said. He left the room, closing the door behind him.

I put on the headphones and took a seat on the stool. Tim and Mr. Cline were sitting at the desk outside this soundproof room.

"You can begin now," Mr. Cline said, speaking into the microphone.

'This is for you, mom,' I thought before being to sing.

I will not make the same mistakes that you did  
I will not let myself  
Cause my heart so much misery  
I will not break the way you did,  
You fell so hard  
I've learned the hard way  
To never let it get that far

Because of you  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk  
Because of you  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt  
Because of you  
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me  
Because of you  
I am afraid

I lose my way  
And it's not too long before you point it out  
I cannot cry  
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes  
I'm forced to fake  
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life  
My heart can't possibly break  
When it wasn't even whole to start with

Because of you  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk  
Because of you  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt  
Because of you  
I find it hard to trust not only me, but everyone around me  
Because of you  
I am afraid

I watched you die  
I heard you cry every night in your sleep  
I was so young  
You should have known better than to lean on me  
You never thought of anyone else  
You just saw your pain  
And now I cry in the middle of the night  
For the same damn thing

Because of you  
I never stray too far from the sidewalk  
Because of you  
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt  
Because of you  
I try my hardest just to forget everything  
Because of you  
I don't know how to let anyone else in  
Because of you  
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty  
Because of you  
I am afraid

Because of you  
Because of you

"That was amazing Hannah!" Mr. Cline said once I exited the sound proof room.

"Thanks," I said. We went back out to the lobby, where dad, Aunt Dolly, and Jackson were waiting. The adults talked while me and Jackson sat, not really paying attention. We left not long after that.

A/N: Because of You, another Kelly Clarkson song. I kinda rushed this chapter, but that's because I was reading my summary for this story. 'First few chapters are in the past.' That's right, I kinda forgot that I was only starting off in the past. As you could tell, after 7 chapters, and still in the past, I over did it. But that's okay because it seems like you guys really like it. So I'll do my part, and work on chapter 8, and when I get some good reviews from you guys, I'll post asap.


	8. Invasion of the Moving Signs

Chapter 8: Invasion of the Moving Signs

Next Monday, I was walking down my street to the park. Dad said he had some big news to say when he gets home in an hour, and I didn't really want to stay around the house. I've grown to hate the house; there are too many memories of mom.

I haven't been to the park since before mom died, and since school and almost everything else is the other way, I haven't taken this route in over a month, and I've missed it. I love how it the sidewalk is always shady because of all the trees. As I turned the corner, getting closer to the park, I past Jacob's house. I did a double take when I saw a moving truck at his house. Jacob's mom and dad were loading up the truck and didn't notice me. Jacob came out of his house with a cardboard box with his name on it written in black marker. He immediately dropped his box on the ground in front of his feet when he saw me.

"Miley…" Jacob said.

I turned away and ran. I ran all the way down the road, and into the park. When I got there, I walked over to a large shady tree and sat down against it. I pulled my knees to my chest and cried on them. This can't be happening! First, my mom dies, and now, my first ever boyfriend is moving and he didn't tell me.

"Miley," said a panting Jacob. "I was going to tell you… but I thought it would be too much for you. I mean, your mom just pasted away, and-," he said, but I cut him off.

"And you thought not telling me so I could go to school tomorrow and find out that you moved, on my own would be better?" I ask.

"Well-," he tried to say.

"Why are you moving?!" I shout.

"Do you remember that guy that was talking to me at the talent show?" he asked. I nodded. "Well he is a talent scout. I did a commercial the weekend of your mom's funeral, and then I auditioned for this new show they're going to start called "Zombie Middle." I got main lead! But I have to move to Los Angeles before someone can try to take my spot in the show."

"Whatever, Jacob. Either way, you should have told me, and if you're going to be moving, I think we should… we should break up."

"What? No, Mile-," Jacob was interrupted by a truck's horn.

"Jacob, let's go!" Jacob father called.

"Have fun in L.A." I said and quickly took off down the road towards my house.

When I got home, there was a 'for sale' sign in our front yard. What is this, invasion of the moving signs? I ran inside and saw Jackson and dad in the living room.

"Come and take a seat Miley," dad said. I walked over to the couch and sat next to Jackson. Dad was standing up facing us. "I think you kids noticed the for sale sign I put up in the front yard…" he began.

"Ya think?!" Jackson and me said sarcastically in unison.

"Well that's because, well, since your mom past away, it's been hard to stay in this house. The second reason is good news though, Marty Cline called, and Hannah Montana got the record deal."

"Dad, this is awesome!" I exclaim.

"Group hug!" dad says, and for once, we didn't say 'gotta go!' or make an excuse to leave. After the hug, Jackson and me sat back down.

"Where are we moving?" Jackson asks.

"We are moving to Malibu. The record company's office is there, and I thought it would be good publicity for Hannah Montana. We are moving at the end of the month."

Before I feel asleep that night, I was laying in bed thinking of the move. I was definitely okay with it, the only people here I would miss are Aunt Dolly and the rest of my family. I know Jackson was okay with it; he always wanted to live on the coast.

'Your not the only one that's going to be a star, Jacob,' I thought before drifting to sleep.

A/N: Well, there's chapter 8. Hopefully I'll be able to update faster now that school's out.


	9. Start to An Awesome Friendship

Chapter 9: Start to an Awesome Friendship

At the end of the month, the house was almost empty, except for a few boxes that were momentarily going to be put into the moving trailer. All of the family was there, which was a lot of people considering that dad has eight brothers and sisters. The look on Luann's face was deadly when she found out that I was going to be a famous pop star. Well, at least I won't have to see her that often anymore.

Once everything was loaded into the moving trailer, which was connected to dad's pickup, and we said goodbye to everyone, we got into the truck. Dad was in the driver's seat, Jackson in shotgun, and me in the back. We got on the highway and began to drive cross-country. That's right: road trip.

I was listening to my mp3 player a lot of the time. Jackson, on the other hand, didn't bring anything. He was bothering dad so much that at one point, when we pulled over to a rest stop, dad got a marker and drew a face on Jackson's stomach.

"There, entertain yourself," dad said sarcastically.

Jackson, being Jackson, took it seriously and was talking to his 'belly buddy' for the rest of the trip. Lucky, I survived that annoying fiasco. When we pulled over to our new house, I was amazed. It was huge!

"I called the room with the beach overview!" I call.

"Not if I get there first!" Jackson called back. We opened our car doors and started racing to the house.

"Whoa! Slow down there kids," dad called to us. Jackson and me stopped and turned around. "I picked out your rooms already." After hearing that, Jackson and me groaned in unison. "Now don't start groaning, I think ya'll will like them."

Not feeling any better, we followed dad into the empty house and up the stairs. We went down the hall and dad opened the last door on the left.

"This is Miley's room," dad said.

The three of us walked into the empty room. Dad opened the closet doors and there was another set of doors, but theses doors had the initials HM on them. I quickly put two and two together and knew that HM stood for Hannah Montana. He opened the doors to show a colorful room full of awesome clothes. My mouth dropped open at the sight.

"So, what do you think?" dad questioned me. I snapped back into reality and ran into the large closet.

"Dad, this is amazing!" I exclaim while looking at all the clothes that were rotating on a rack. "How did you get all of this here?"

"A friend," dad said simply.

"Dad! Miley's got her own little mini mall in here! What about me?" Jackson complained.

"I thought you might've said something like that son," dad said. "Let's go to your new room."

Jackson and me followed dad to the room before mine. Inside the room was a large window with an overlook of the beach.

"This is the best room ever!" Jackson exclaimed. He ran over to the window and started drooling over some 'hot babes' playing beach volleyball.

"Alright, now that you've seen your rooms, let's unload the trailer," dad said.

After me and dad peeled Jackson away from the window, the three of us walked outside to the trailer. Dad opened the back of it to reveal all of the boxes and furniture. Jackson and dad grabbed some boxes and went inside the house. I grabbed one of the boxes labeled 'Miley's stuff,' which was conveniently one of the closest boxes. I headed to the house, but as soon as I stepped on to the sidewalk, I crashed into something.

Something. Scratch that: someone. It was a girl about my age; she had fallen also. She got up and then helped me up. She had straight, medium length, blonde hair, which she had a light blue hat over. She was wearing kaki shorts went up to her knees, a navy blue shirt and matching navy blue converse's high tops.

"I am so, so sorry! I couldn't see where I was going. My dog ate my contacts and I couldn't find my spares. My mom bought me a pair of glasses but they were hideous! Trust me; NEVER let your mother buy you glasses at a place that also sells tires. I don't think I've seen you around, have I? Well what do I know? I can barely see. Anyways, I'm Lillian Trescott, but I hate the name Lillian. I mean seriously, who names their child Lillian? It's such a stupid name! Unless it's your name, in that case, I'm so sorry… again. But hi! My friends call me Lilly," the girl named Lilly rambled. She then made an attempt to shake my hand, but instead, shook my wrist.

"Lilly!" a guy shouted while running over to us. "I found your spare contacts." He came panting over to us and handed Lilly her contacts. He had ear length chocolate-brown hair. He was wearing long jeans with a red polo shirt. He had a white polo shirt under it with the ends of the shirt sleeves rolled on top of the red polo shirt, same thing with the shirt collar. Definitely a unique style.

Once the guy caught his breath, he looked around. "I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed. "She's been crashing into people all day." He picked up my box from the ground and handed it to me. "It looks like you just moved here. I'm Oliver Oken, but the ladies call me Smoken Oken," he said with a grin which made me feel uncomfortable. Once Lilly had applied on her contacts, she grabbed Oliver's shirt collar and pulled him away from me.

"Sorry about that," she said. "He hits on all the girls."

I laughed. "I'm Miley Stewart."

"Ooo, Miley! That's a great name, much better than Lillian," Lilly said. "So Miley, what school are you going to go to?"

"I think my dad said… Seaview Middle," I said thinking off the top of my head.

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Lilly screeched. "We go to Seaview!!!" She started jumping up and down excited.

"Lilly! Calm. Down," Oliver said. He grabbed a hold of her shoulders to make her stop. I laughed as Oliver tried to calm her down. I knew that it was a start to an awesome friendship.

A/N: Hey guys! I wrote this chapter ASAP. I'm lovin the reviews; you guys are awesome! I had fun typing this chapter, though I'm pretty sure it was the last one in the past. Anyways, I'm not sure if the next chapter will be up too, too soon, but it'll be up some time this week (hopefully.)

There's a link on my profile (if you guys are interested) to a Jiley picture my friend Lemonfaced drew. It's awesome!


	10. Hottie of the Year

Chapter 10: Hottie of the Year

_Dear Miley,_

_I really miss you a lot. I know I was stupid and I should have told you that I was moving. I'm really sorry. I mean __**really, really **__sorry. Can't we still be friends? Please keep in touch._

_Sincerely,_

Jacob Ryan 

Jacob had just moved to Los Angeles a month ago and was writing a letter to Miley. He hesitantly put the letter into an envelope and sealed it. After putting on the addresses, he mailed it. Today, he was going to go to the first meeting of Zombie High. His parents had prior arrangements, so they dropped Jacob off at the studio. As he walked onto the set, he met his new director.

"Hello, I'm your director, Roger," the man said as if he were speaking to a five year old.

"Hi, I'm Jacob."

"Nice to meet you," Roger said, then shouted to the crew, "alright, we need Jake at make up."

"It's Jacob," he corrected.

"Right…" Roger says in a tone meaning 'I don't care.' A woman in her 20s came over to take Jacob to the make up department. Make up. They're kidding right?

End Flashback

So yeah, that's my past. That's how I got my first boyfriend. That's how my mom died. That's how your average guy, Jacob Ryan, turn into the famous Jake Ryan. That's how I became Hannah Montana. Most importantly, that's how I knew Jake Ryan. I tuned back to what 'Jake' was saying to the class.

"…Since I am, well you know, a superstar, and Tween magazine's Hottie of the Year," Jake boasted.

Lilly gasped, "I framed the cover," she said.

"Me too!" Jake said.

"I hung it in my bathroom," Lilly continued.

"Me too!"

Ahh! This is so annoying. Why did Jacob have to turn into Jake Ryan the egotistical monster?

"Oh my gosh, we have so much in common. We both love you!" Lilly says and shakes her head dreamily. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that Lilly doesn't know the fact that I knew him before I moved to Malibu?

"Um, excuse me. Superstar, Hottie of the Year, your point?" I found myself saying. I could have sworn he recognized me for a second as he did a double take, but was proved wrong as he continued talking.

Later that day, after school, I was walking to my locker when I noticed Mr. Bram, the janitor, doing something to it.

"Excuse me Mr. Bram, was there something wrong with my locker?" I asked.

"Na, na, I just thought Jakey needed more room," he said while opening a locker that was four lockers put together, and one of them was mine!

"What?" I exclaim as I see an ipod and a TV inside the locker. And as if on cue, Jake came over telling one of his stories.

"And that's when I said, 'no Mr. Trump, ya fired!" The group around him laughed. "Hey, do you think one of you guys could save me a seat in the cafeteria?" The group agreed and ran to the cafeteria. "Thanks," Jake said and gave a small chuckle. He turned around to see his locker.

"Oh Tony!" Jake exclaimed.

"Jakey," Tony replied.

"I just asked if you could get the squeak outta the door! This is above and beyond. Give me some love!" They did a stupid hand shake then repeatedly said 'you da man.'

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, great! Who da man that knows where my locker is?!" I exclaim.

I immediately saw Jake's eyes soften up. "Oh wow, is this your-,"

"Yes, this is my locker!"

"Don't sweat it Millie," Tony said.

"Miley!" I correct.

"Like it matters," he replied. "Here's your stuff, come with me" He handed me a garbage bag and led my to a door and then opened it. "You're down by the boiler room, locker one." As I look into the stairs that headed down to my locker, Tony waved a bag in my face.

"What's this?" I ask, confused.

"Cheese. While you're down there, reset the traps." I walked down the stairs to look for my new locker.

"Excuse me… Miley, right?" Jake calls from the door.

I climbed back up the stairs with my stuff. "Yeah, what is it?" I ask, half nervous he'll figure out who I really am, half just plain annoyed.

"Look, I know you don't want to have a locker in the basement, and there's more than enough room in my locker for your stuff, so why don't we share?"

"Yeah, like I'd wanna share a locker with you," I snapped.

"Come on Miley, it's better than in the basement." I could always share with Lilly; then again, her locker's a messy jungle, and it's the same as for Oliver.

"Fine," I give in. We walked over to his locker and he started to help me put my books away.

"You know… I used to have a girlfriend named Miley. She looked just like you but she lives in Tennessee.

"Ha ha," I fake laughed nervously. "That is so weird!"

"When I moved from Tennessee, we broke up. I tried to mail her letters, but she never responded back," Jake said sadly.

"Aww, I'm sorry," I said, even though I wasn't sorry for not responding to his letters. He left me for a TV show in Los Angeles. If that talent scout didn't show up to our school musical, then Jake probably wouldn't have become a famous actor. I wouldn't have left him for Hannah Montana and Malibu; I would have stayed in Tennessee. But then again, I wouldn't have met Lilly and Oliver. I guess some changes weren't bad at all.

A/N: Hey guys! I was going to start this chapter at End Flashback, but after I got a review from wolfwhisperer asking me if I could put 'Jacob' in this chapter, so I got a short idea which also explained how Jacob turned into 'Jake.' My idea wasn't too good, but it was better than nothing. So you guys review, and I'll get the next chapter up ASAP.


	11. The Cracker

Chapter 11: The Cracker

Within the next week, Jake and me hung out some times. I was his friend. Oliver and me are probably his only friends, everyone else, including Lilly, were star struck. We didn't hang out often though. Jake and me have all our classes together, so we try to sit with each other, but most of the time, girls are having fights just to sit with him. We tried to eat lunch together once, Jake, Oliver, Lilly, and me that is, but we couldn't get through a conversation without Lilly going all googly eyed on Jake.

I went to the set of Zombie High as Hannah Montana. My dad signed a contract for a guest appearance without my consent. While reading the script, I found out that I had to kiss Jake. I was NOT going to kiss one of my past love interests. Of course, that's not what I told Roger, the director. I ended up having to kiss Demon Dog. I had the taste of kibbles and bits in my month for the rest of the weekend!

The thing is, Jake talked to me on the set while I was Hannah. He said he likes this girl named Miley who goes to his school. He likes me! Figures. He liked me two years ago; he just doesn't know that he likes the same person. And get this; he said that he still has feelings for a girl named Miley, who lives in his hometown Nashville. I'm relived that he hasn't figured out that I'm his old girlfriend; I just thought it was a little more obvious if you know the story.

"And now…" Jake continued as we sat in my dressing room, "It's like I'm seeing her every where. I mean; I know she's in Tennessee, but her eyes… I see them in the Miley that's at my school, and you too, and the Miley at my school has the same brunette colored hair as the Miley in Tennessee. It's like she's her clone."

"That's… weird," I said as Hannah.

"Ready to go?" Lilly asked as she approached Jake's and mine's locker. It's Monday after school, and Lilly and me are about to walk home.

"Yeah," I reply as I shut the locker.

The two of us walked out of school together. When we were getting closer to our houses, we saw the Cracker (A/N: the bully in the episode Schooly Bully) looking for someone on the beach, or waiting for someone; I couldn't tell.

"Isn't that the Cracker?" I whispered to Lilly, while pointing in her direction.

"I think it is; run!" Lilly whispered loudly. We were able to run towards our houses without getting her attention. We reached my house panting.

"What's she doing here?" I asked.

"I have no idea," Lilly replies.

"Where's Roxy when we need her?"

"You're late," the Cracker said.

"We were at school," Amber and Ashley said in unison. "Ooo, tss."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the Cracker said, annoyed, and swatted their fingers apart. "Now what do you want?"

"Do you remember Hillbilly Stewart?" Amber asks.

"How could I forget," the Cracker said through her clenched teeth. Obviously, she was angry at Miley for getting her in trouble with the principal.

"Perfect," Amber and Ashley said in unison once again. They were about to do their finger touch, but by the look on the Cracker's face, they dropped their hands to their sides.

"Maybe you can help us with something…" Amber said with a grin.

"Hey dad," I said as I walked inside my house after saying bye to Lilly.

"Hey bud," dad replied. "Oh yeah, I forgot to show you this the other day. He held up a newspaper from the other day. The cover read 'Jake's Return to a Normal Life' with a picture of Jake surrounded by most of my homeroom. I rolled my eyes. "So when were ya gonna tell me that Jacob was going to your school?" dad ask, not angry of course, just curious.

"Never, it's not important," I said.

"So are ya still mad at him?" dad asked. He knew the story, I told him before we moved here to Malibu.

"He doesn't even know it's me," I said with a small laugh. "He just thinks I look a lot like 'this girl named Miley from Tennessee.'"

"Are you going to tell Jake that you're 'Miley from Tennesse?"

"No, I rather not let him know that I'm the same girl cried when I found out he was moving. I rather not let him know that I'm the same girl that broke up with him. I wanna keep this new friendship I have with him."

"Alright bud, I get it," dad said and dropped the subject. "Do you remember a few weeks ago, when you mention that Lilly's birthday was this Friday?"

"Yeah… she's doing something on Saturday with her family," I said while pouring myself a glass of water.

Flashback to Friday 

"_So Lilly, what are you doing for your birthday?" I ask at lunch._

"_Well, since my little brother has to get braces, we're going out to dinner next Saturday," Lilly replied. "And here's the fun part… I get to pick where we go," she added sarcastically._

End Flashback

"Well what about Lola?" dad asked while I put my glass of water on the counter. I turned around to face him. He had a grin on his face.

I smiled, "what did you do?" I ask.

"Oh nothing, just planned a celebrity party," dad said as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Dad, this is awesome! I can't wait to tell Lilly tomorrow. She'll be so excited!"

The next day, Lilly and me were walking to school again.

"Okay Miley, what's so big, that I have to wait until we get school for you to tell me?" Lilly asks.

"You'll see…" I say in a singsong voice. Once we got inside school and to Jake and mine's locker, we stopped. We left early, so there were only a few other students wondering the halls. I check to make sure nobody was near us first.

"Okay, you know how your fourteenth birthday is on Friday?" I ask.

"Yeah…" Lilly said in the way that meant that she wanted me to continue.

"Well, my dad scheduled a party at this club for Lola," I whisper to her.

She squealed, "Miley, this is so awesome!"

We happy danced for a few minutes getting a few strange looks from other students as school got more crowded.

"Thanks so much Miley, you're my bestest friend ever!" Lilly exclaimed and hugged me.

"Aww, how cute," Oliver jokingly taunted as he and Jake came over to us. Lilly and me pulled apart and gave each other a quick annoyed glance before we each slapped one of his shoulders.

"Oww!" Oliver cried. Jake, Lilly, and me laughed as Oliver grabbed a hold of each of his shoulders with the hand opposite of the shoulder. He glared at Jake.

"Oh sure, laugh while it's not you." That just made us laugh some more.

Too bad we didn't know what was going to happen at lunch…

A/N: I know the Cracker was in an episode after Jake left for Romania, but let's just pretend that she appeared before Jake even showed up.


	12. Shirts and Salad Dressing Don't Mix

A/N: For who asked, Jake left in "People Who Use People"

Chapter 12: Shirts and Salad Dressing Don't Mix

Before lunch, Jake said he had to talk to Mr. Corelli about our homework, so it was just Lilly, Oliver, and I again at lunch.

"Mmm… nothing better on a peanut butter sandwich than pickled chips, little bit of mustard, and chili," Oliver said while making his sandwich, which earned a few strange looks for Lilly and I.

The day was running so smoothly until Dandruff Danny ran through the cafeteria doors saying something we haven't heard in a while.

"Here she comes! Here she comes! It's the Cracker!"

"Gotta go," Oliver and Lilly said in unison and quickly got up and left through the back exit faster than Uncle Earl when Aunt Pearl says it's time for spring-cleaning. So they were able to avoid being 'big ol' targets.'

I was just about to leave also, so I grabbed my lunch tray and was about to stand up, but I heard a familiar disturbing noise. The Cracker was right behind me cracking her neck. I turned around to face her.

"Heeeyy Cracker, how ya been?" I question nervously. Her response was cracking a nut in her hand and letting the crumbles fall to the ground. Most kids had either left the cafeteria like Lilly and Oliver, or were watching from around the walls: a safer distance.

"You know what I'm in the mood for?" The Cracker asked me.

"What," I ask, still with a nervous voice.

"Salad."

"Mrs. Rush?" I whimper to the teacher that was cleaning her glasses, that by the way didn't help her eyesight, and listening to music when she was supposed to be supervising.

The next thing I knew, I was pressed against the salad bar with salad dressing covering my face and shirt. Lettuce was sprinkled on my shirt once again.

"Looks pretty good, but it's missing something. Oh yeah, nuts," the Cracker had a nut in each hand, after cracking them; she spread the nut crumbles on top of me. The kids had moved closer to the scene and were now surrounding the salad bar; it was just like last time. I saw a door open. The door was facing the salad bar, so I was able to see it open.

"Hey! What's going on?" I heard Jake say as he cut threw the crowd of kids. "Miley?" he asked when he saw me laying in the salad bar.

The Cracker tossed some lettuce that was in her hand behind her and walked up to Jake. The next words she said washed off the smirks on Amber and Ashley's faces, who were standing in the front of the crowd.

"Oh my gosh, you're Jake Ryan!"

I always thought that I was one of the people that treated Jake like a normal person, but Jake said I was the only one. I stand corrected. I probably am the only person who treats Jake like a normal person. Even the Cracker goes crazy. I guess I treat him normal because I know what it's like to be famous, that and the fact that I've known him since before he became famous.

"Miley?" Jake asked once again. I guess he was pretty shocked. My cheeks started to burn with embarrassment. I can't believe he's seeing me like this! Him and the rest of the school! He walked past the Cracker and helped me out of the salad bar.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said so quietly that it was barely audible. I was brushing the lettuce off of my shirt. There wasn't much I could do about the salad dressing on my shirt.

"Move it Stewart," the Cracker said, and shoved me away from Jake.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Jake said almost immediately. The Cracker looked taken back at his outburst towards her. "Come on Miley, let's get outta here," he said while glaring at the Cracker. Jake grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the cafeteria and into an empty hall.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked once again.

"Now I am," I said a little louder than when I responded earlier. I scowled myself on the inside. 'Gosh Miley, the line was so lame,' I say inside my head. Hey… since when did I care if I said something lame to Jake?

"Well it looks like ya have a stain," he said, and still holding hands, he lead me to our locker. Jake released his grip on my hand once we reached our locker. He opened the locker and pulled out an emerald green shirt. "Here," Jake said. "You can borrow my shirt."

"Thanks Jaco-ke," I said quickly, coving my mistake, and gratefully took the shirt. On the inside, I was scowling myself again. This wasn't the first time I almost called him Jacob. It happens every once and a while, but luckily, he hasn't noticed. "I'll be right back," I said, and walked over to the girl's bathroom down the hall.

It was empty when I walked in. I immediately looked into a mirror and saw my salad dressing covered face. Luckily none had gotten in my hair, so I pulled my wavy hair back into a ponytail with a hair tie I had on my wrist, and washed the dressing off my face. I went into a stall and locked it. I took off my messenger bag and then my shirt. Then I hung my shirt on the door of the stall while I put on the shirt that Jake let me borrow. It was big on me of course, so I tied the back of it, grabbed my bag and shirt, and got out of the stall. When I got out of the restroom and saw Jake waiting at our locker in the still empty hallway.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I replied. "Thanks again for letting me borrow your shirt," I said as I folded my stained shirt and put it in my messenger bag.

"It's no problem," Jake said. "Hey, I remember Miley having the same bag."

"Wow," I said amazed. "You remember little things like that about her?"

"Yeah," he said softly. "It's just… sometimes I miss her so much. Sometimes I regret leaving to Los Angeles… sometimes I wish I never became an actor… and I was back home in Nashville with Miley... and I would live a normal life back at my old school. But now… Miley probably would never talk to me again since I left. Sometimes I wanna get tutored on set again. If you weren't here, I probably would have went back to tutoring. You're the only person I've met since I've become an actor that treats me like a normal person and I like that."

It was now that I realized how close we were. We were leaning in- just about to kiss, when Lilly and Oliver ran up to us and we backed up.

"Oh my gosh Miley! We heard what happened, are you okay?" Lilly said all in one breath.

"Whoa, calm down Lilly," I told her.

"Is it true Miles?" Oliver asked. "Did you end up in the salad bar _again_?" I glared at Oliver for saying that

"Again?" Jake questioned confused. Luckily, the bell saved me from answering that question.

"Come on, let's get to class," I said and start to walk away as the halls started to fill with students.

"Miley, you okay?" Lilly asked when she caught up with me.

"Yeah… no- maybe. Look, there's something I have to tell you after school at my house, alright?" I say to her.

"Alright…" Lilly said uncertainly.

A/N: What do you peoples think she's gonna tell Lilly?

And I'm planning on have Jake find out that Miley is Miley on the next chapter or the one after that.

How do you think Jake should find out?

A. Miley tells him

B. Jake finds out she moved to Mailbu from Tennessee

C. Other


	13. Wait, You're Jake Ryan

Chapter 13: Wait, You're Jake Ryan

It's Tuesday afternoon now, and school over. Lilly and I walked inside my house and saw my dad in the kitchen.

"Hey bud."

"Hey dad," I replied.

"Hey Mr. Stewart," Lilly said.

"How was school?" dad asked. "And why do you have a different shirt on?"

"Long story dad," I said and pulled Lilly upstairs before dad could do further questioning.

"Alright, now what did you want to tell me?" Lilly asked as she sat down in my purple beanbag chair. I took a seat on my bed.

"Let me just tell you the story in short terms," I said. "There was a boy named Jacob who went to my old school in Tennessee. He was in over half of my classes and he was my partner for a science project. Then we became friends around the time I joined my school's choir. Then we both got main roles in the school musical. Not long after, he became my first boyfriend. On the day of the musical, my mom died. Not long after, I became Hannah Montana. One day, I was going to park. It must have been a month have my mom had passed away. I saw a moving truck in front of Jacob's house and he saw me. I ran away from him and went to the park, but he caught up with me. I was crying at the point. He said he didn't want to hurt me, but he said he was moving to Los Angeles. Then I broke up with him and left, and not long after that, I moved to Malibu to promote Hannah Montana."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Lilly asked.

"Jacob went to Los Angeles to do _acting_," I said, hoping she would catch on, but she didn't.

"And…?" she asked.

"And he's Jake Ryan!" I shouted, slightly frustrated. Lilly gasped and there was a moment of silence. "Man you're slow," I said under my breath.

"Our Jake Ryan?" Lilly questioned quietly.

"Yeah."

"Wow," Lilly said, taking in this new information. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I don't really like bringing up my past," I said, looking towards the ground.

"Wait…" Lilly said, still in thought. "If you broke up with him… then why are you guys friends?"

"That's the thing Lil," I sighed. "He doesn't know it's me."

"Wow," Lilly said once again.

"I know," I said. "And… I think I like him again…"

"Wow," Lilly repeated.

"Okay, now it's just getting old."

"Sorry," Lilly said.

"And Jake told Hannah Montana that he likes Miley," I said.

"You Miley or Tennessee you Miley," Lilly asked.

"He said he like me Miley, but he also said that he still has feelings for Tennessee me Miley," I explain.

"Well this is confusing," Lilly replied.

"I know," I said before throwing myself on my bed and covering my face with a pillow.

"Well… it's not _that_ confusing," Lilly said, trying to lighten things up. "When you think about it anyways. You like Jake, and Jake likes you. He just has feelings for Tennessee you Miley. Jake just doesn't know that you're her… or Hannah. Wow, he knows you as three people, you'd think he'd figure out something by now."

"Look who's talking," I replied as I took the pillow off my face. "It took you a year and sneaking into my dressing room before you figured it out I was Hannah Montana."

"Hey," Lilly said while raising her hands defensively. "If I knew you before you moved here, I would have recognized you."

"It's been two years," I said. "Los Angeles changed him a bit."

"Hey Miles," Jackson greeted me as he walked into the room and sat next to me on the bed. "Hey Lilly."

"Hey Jackson," Lilly and I replied in unison.

"Whatcha talkin' bout?" Jackson asked. I gave Lilly a worried glance. I don't want Jackson to know that Jake was here in Malibu. He would either beat him up or accidentally tell him who we are.

"Nothing," Lilly and I said in unison again.

"Oh fine!" Jackson said in mock hurt. "I'll just leave." He got up and left, but came back to the door. "It's nice to know I'm trusted around here!"

When Jackson was gone for sure, Lilly and I were laughing at his overdramatic scene. "Dad, I'm going to the beach!" we heard him say to dad. Lilly stopped laughing and sat up on the beanbag.

"Hey, that's a good idea."

"What?" I asked.

"The four of us should go to the beach now."

"The four of us?"

"You, me, Oliver, and Jake duh," Lilly said in a superior voice. "And you said I was slow." I rolled my eyes.

"Fine."

Lilly squealed happily and pulled out her cell phone. "Hello, Oliver? Yeah… do you and Jake wanna meet us at the beach? Great… all right, see you in 15. Bye," she shut her cell phone. "Oliver said that the two of them were at the arcade now and to meet us in 15 minutes."

"Okay then, let's go," I said. We walked over to the beach and stood near Rico's. It's been about 15 minutes since Lilly talked to Oliver on the phone. Lucky us; Jackson was nearby trying to get a girl. Oh joy.

"Hey Lilly," Oliver said as he and Jake came over to us. "Hey Miley.

"Hey ladies," Jake greeted.

"Hey," I replied.

"Sup Jake, sup," of course, that was Lilly. I elbowed her. Apparently she had forgotten that I like him.

"Miley, I've been meaning to ask you, what did Oliver mean today when he said 'did you end up in the salad bar again?'" Jake asked.

"Nothing Jake," I reply.

"Come on, what did he mean?" Jake persisted.

"I said '_nothing_,'" I reply again.

"Miley, you know you could tell me whatever it is," he said.

"It's none of your business Jacob!" I yelled. His eyes widened and after I realized what I had said, I also widened my eyes and clamped my hand over my mouth. Oliver was confused so Lilly pulled him away and told him the story. Jake and I remained staring wide-eyed at each other.

Once Jake regained some posture, he managed to ask slowly, "Did you just call me Jacob?"

"Uhh… maybe?"

"Only a few people have ever called me Jacob. How did you know…?" What am I suppose to tell him?! I couldn't think of anything so I just remained silent.

"Where did you say you're from?" Jake asked.

The first place I could think of that wasn't Tennessee, was Montana. I opened my mouth, right about to answer, when Jackson came over and leaned his right arm on my left shoulder as if I was an armrest.

"Tennesse," he said. My eyes widen once again because of the answer. He blew it. "Hi, I'm Jackson, Miley's older brother." Jackson took his arm off my shoulder and held his hand in front of him. Jake, also wide-eyed once again because of the answer, did nothing. "Uh, you're s'pose to shake it," Jackson said as if he were speaking to a little kid. He looked at his face and realized something. "Wait, you're Jake Ryan." Upon realizing what this meant, Jackson widened his eyes and let out a small, "oops..."

A/N: Hey peoples! Full credit to how Jake found out Miley was Miley goes to wolfwhisperer and Julx27xluvsxHM. Tell me whatcha think of the chapter.Now here's another question...

How do you did Jake should react?

A. Mad

B. Happy


	14. Moving On

Chapter 14: Moving On

The three of us just stood there wide-eyed. Oliver and Lilly had just left home without telling us. They probably didn't want to interrupt this oh-so-wonderful reunion.

"You never told me that," Jake said, disappointment was ringing in his voice.

"I-I'm sorry," I choked out. I couldn't handle being stuck in this position, so I ran away.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oww!" Jake shouted as Jackson punched his shoulder. "Dude, what was that for?!"

"You just ruined it," Jackson said. "She ran away."

"Yeah, well, she should've told me who she was," Jake said. Jackson looked to Jake's eyes, but Jake turned away.

"You're lying!" Jackson exclaimed.

"What?" Jake said.

"You-are-ly-ing! I could tell by your eyes, that's not how you really feel," Jackson said.

"How would you know?" Jake said. Jackson gave him a knowing look. "Fine! I'm lying! Happy??"

"Not till you make Miley happy," Jackson said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well how do I do that?" Jake exclaimed while throwing his hands in the air. "I blew it!"

"Not completely," Jackson answered. "She probably thinks she blew it by not telling you."

"Huh?"

"She thinks you're mad at her for not telling you earlier. Are you mad at her?" Jackson asked.

"Not really… surprised, but not mad," Jake answered.

"Then come on," Jackson said, walking off the beach.

"Come on where?" Jake asked while following Jackson.

"Just followed me Jacob." Jake smiled; he had missed Jackson and Miley theses past two years.

In a few minutes, Jake and Jackson stood in front of a beach house.

"Where are we?" Jake asked.

"We're at me and Miley's house," Jackson replied, and unlocked the front door with his key.

"Hey dad," Jackson said as the two got to the kitchen.

"Hey Mr. Stewart," Jake greeted.

"You remember Jacob, right?" Jackson asked.

"Of course I do," Robbie Ray replied. "Long time no see Jacob."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm lying on a bed, staring at ceiling. I blew it, didn't I? I should have told Jake who I was from the beginning.

_Well, why didn't I?_

Because I thought I would lose my new friend.

_Yeah right, friendship sailed off a long time along and I know it._

That's true, I liked him and he liked me… again.

_Yeah, and know he probably won't speak to me again._

"Ugh!" I said loud, and slammed a pillow a top of my face. Time for the ever-so-famous question…

_Now what?_

Someone knocked on the bedroom door. I guess that answers that question.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake knocked on Miley's door and waited for a response.

Nothing.

He tried again.

Still nothing.

He went back into Jackson's room to find him playing video games. "Jackson."

"What?" Jackson asked, still playing his car racing game.

"She didn't answer the door." Jackson sighed and pause the game.

"Let's see what's going on," Jackson said and got up. They walked over to her door and Jackson knocked. After getting no response, he opened the door and they walked in.

"She's not here."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I opened the door and let Lilly into her room. She had a bowl of cheetos and two cups of water.

"Thanks for letting me come over Lil," I said, taking a cup of water and grabbing a cheeto.

"No problem Miles," Lilly said. "Now what happened when Oliver and me left?"

"Well he said 'you never told me that' and he sounded angry… or disappointed… or both. I couldn't handle it so I ran over to your house.

"Wow," Lilly said. We watched TV for the next 30 minutes in Lilly's room. When the show we were finished, Lilly turned off the TV.

"I'm bored," we said in unison and laughed.

"Wanna go to the beach?" Lilly questioned.

"No thanks," I replied. "I think I should get home, it's already 5:30."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Jackson asked as they approached the front door of the Stewart house.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You just stay here incase she comes home while I'm looking for her," Jake replied.

"Good luck," Jackson said.

"Thanks, I'll see ya later."

Jake walked outside the house and started down the sidewalk. His hands in his jean pockets and his head to the ground. Jake played an old game and avoided the cracks in the sidewalk.

BAM

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked outside Lilly's house after saying goodbye and head down the sidewalk towards home. The sky was blue and I watched the clouds roll by. Big mistake.

BAM

"Ouch," the person and I say together as we fall to the sidewalk. Well, this is one way to watch the clouds, I thought while lying on my back.

"Sorry," we said in unison. The voice was familiar and it only was fit for that one person.

Jake.

We got up I and tried to run past him so I wouldn't have to hear him yell at me, but he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into a hug. I was confused, but I hugged back and enjoyed it.

"I thought I was never gonna see you again," Jake said as we pulled apart. It only took me second to know he was talking about the sixth grade Miley he knew back in Tennessee.

"I'm sorry, I should've told you who I was when you first started Seaview."

"It's okay Miles, but… why didn't you?"

"Huh?"

"Why didn't you tell me who you were when I first started Seaview?"

"Well, I was about to, but we became friends, and I thought-," Miley started.

"You thought things would be different between us if I knew?" Jake finished.

"Yeah," Miley replied.

"That won't happen Miley."

A thought was running through my head over and over again.

_Friends, or more than friends?_

I tested the question with my next action.

"Friends," I held out my hand.

"Friends," Jake said, and shook my hand.

I looked for signs of disappointment in his face.

None.

Either he's as good of an actor as everyone says he is, or he got over me when he found out who I am. Oh well, I told myself. I put on a smile and pretended that I wasn't hurt. We walked over to my house together to be greeted by Jackson and then the three of us played video games in Jackson's room until dinner. I really missed all three of us hanging out.

The next day was Wednesday. That night, we were presenting this year's Teen Scene Awards. After I was finished making myself look like a fool on national television, Jake and I talked for a minute. He told me about finding out Miley was Miley, and I pretended to be surprised. I was about to squeeze information out of him to find out if he still like me Miley, but he changed the subject.

"It's great to see you again Hannah, can't wait to get you back on the show to finish that kiss. I'll have my people call your people."

"Great, my people will be waiting," I said. That's when Lilly pops up dressed as Lola.

"That would be me. I'm Lola, her most important people, which is why I may look familiar." I gave her a look. She better not blow this cover like Jackson did the other one. "But we've never meet," she continued. "Not even at school or anything, cause I'm home schooled…in Canada… where the moose are." She put her hands on her head and waved them like antlers.

"Okay…" Jake said. "Nice to meet you too. Bye."

"Bye Jake," I said and waited for him to leave and turned to Lilly. "Where the moose are, in Canada, where I'm home schooled. Lola, way to keep your cover!"

"Oh who cares," Lilly said. We heard the sound of cameras flashing behind us and saw Jake kissing an actress on the cheek as a pose.

I guess he did move on.

A/N: Oh my gosh, I never expected so many reviews! You guys are awesome!!!


	15. Jealousy

Chapter 15: Jealousy

Today is Thursday, the day before the party. Lilly and I had just bought some ice cream from Rico's. I was glaring at Jake and the actress I saw him with last night. Her name is Holly.

"Wow, you got it bad," Lilly says. I look over to her to see what she's talking about. She gestures to my hand, with was now covered in ice cream because I crumbled the cone. I wiped my hand off with a napkin.

"I'm going to go get a pretzel," I announce and walk over to Jake and Holly.

"Oh, hi Jacob. I didn't notice you here on the beach," I said.

"Oh, hey Miley. I didn't notice you here on the beach either," he said. "This is Holly, she's an actress."

"Oh yeah, I saw you in that commercial. You know, the one were you have to have the really uncomfortable talk with your mom. I hope everything worked out."

"That wasn't really my mom, okay?" Holly said in a stuck-up voice. I keep my grin.

"Well, as long as the toe fungus is gone." I grabbed my pretzel and left without saying goodbye.

That night was 'Lola's' birthday party. She went off to find her favorite pirate, Orlando Bloom, and I watched Jake spin little Ms. Toe-Fungus around the dance floor. Dad booked the biggest club in Malibu. The room was not lit by regular lights, but instead, blue, purple, red, and green lights.

"Come on, Hannah!" Lola said.

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me to a large table where many people were surrounding. A chef brought out a huge cake lit with fourteen candles. It had five layers; it was a vanilla cake with vanilla icing. Each layer was round and had strawberries going around the edge. The strawberries were drizzled with chocolate syrup. Lilly's favorite.

We all sang happy birthday and had cake. Then she was going to open presents. Lilly opened mine first. It was a prepaid mall gift card so she could spend it at any store. She hugged me and went on to the other presents.

"Hey Hannah, wanna dance?" Jake asked. I looked around to see were Holly was. She was across the room talking to Kelly Clarkson. Oh, why not?

"Sure," I replied. We danced for a little bit, then fungus girl cut in. I went to find Lilly.

The next day, Saturday, I was down by the beach a Rico's. I was sitting on a stool talking to Jackson while he worked his shift.

"Hey Jackson," Jake said as he came up to Rico's.

"Hey," Jackson replied and started cleaning the counter.

"Miley," Jake started. "I was wondering… do you wanna go catch a movie or something?"

"Aww, what? Holly can't come?" I said in mock sadness. I got up from my seat and walked away. I could see Jackson giving Jake a 'what did you do this time look.'

"Holly?" he asked, confused, as if she had nothing to do with this.

"Yeah, ya know, your _girlfriend_," I said, stressing the word 'girlfriend.'

"She's not my girlfriend. We have a movie coming out, so we've been hanging out- as a publicity thing," Jake said. I was growing frustrated.

"Why didn't you tell me that before??" I exclaim.

"Uhh, well… I-I think I," Jake stutters.

"Wait a minute, I know why," I said. "Because you were trying to make me jealous."

"Was not," Jake said. "And even if I was… you do look pretty jealous."

"I am so not jealous."

"Are too," Jake disagreed.

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not," I exclaim one last time before he pulls me into a kiss.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, I guess this means we're together," I said to Jake happily as he walks me home with his arm wrapped around my shoulder.

"I guess it does," Jake said equally as happy. A photographer jumps out of the bushes and takes a few shots of Jake and I before running off.

"Paulie," we both mutter at the same time.

"Wait, how do you know him?" Jake asks confused.

What am I suppose to say? He took a picture of me at Kelly Clarkson's birthday party and I attacked him? Oh sure, that would work. Not. So I settle for, "he tried to snagged information from me about you."

"Oh," Jake says. We continued with a moment of silence. "You know, this is kinda like déjà vu."

"How?"

"Remember the day we got together in Tennessee?"

"Oh yeah," I said, smiling brightly.

_Flashback_

"_Alright, what's going on?" he asked._

"_Nothing," I said._

"_Well, I think you're jealous because you saw me talking to Jennifer this morning."_

_I didn't respond._

"_You are jealous!" he said. I still didn't say anything._

"_Newsflash Miley Stewart, I don't like Jennifer. She was asking me about last night's homework assignment… and…"_

"_And what?" I asked. By now my cheeks were bright pink with embarrassment._

"_I like you!" Jacob said as loud as he could without disturbing the classes._

"_Me?" I asked in shock._

"_Yeah," Jacob says softly. Before I knew it, I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him into a short kiss. We pulled apart, this time, both blushing._

End Flashback

We reached the front door of my house without realizing it.

"Wanna hangout tomorrow?" Jake asks.

"Sure," I said. "Rico's at 1?"

"Alright," Jake replied. He gave me a peck on the cheek and walked home.

"Hey mom and dad," Jake said as he entered the kitchen of his house.

"Hey Jake," Mr. Ryan said, not looking up from his newspaper. He, like most everyone else, called him Jake.

"Hey sweetie, you better get packing," Mrs. Ryan said.

"Why…?" Jake questioned confusedly.

"Okay, brace yourself," Mrs. Ryan says. "You remember that movie Frankie Muniz was in and you and Hannah Montana presented an award to?"

"Yeah…"

"And remember how he couldn't except the award because he was doing a movie in Romania?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, he dropped out!" Mrs. Ryan exclaims happily.

"And…?" Jake asked

"I got you the part!!!"

On the inside, Jake was a combination of sad and mad. Sad, because he would have to leave Miley again. Mad, because his mom didn't ask him if he wanted the part. On the outside, Jake acted excited. He knew his mom probably worked hard to get the part for him, and he didn't want to disappoint her.

After he thanked his mom, Jake went to his room to pack for Romania. After he was done packing, he called a friend…

"Jackson, I have some bad news, but don't tell Miley, I will tomorrow… before I leave…"


	16. I Believed Them

Chapter 16: I Believed Them

Jackson took me to Rico's because he was about to go to work anyway. He was acting a bit different, like he was sad or something.

"Hey Jackson, are you okay?" I ask as we get to Rico's. Instead of jumping over the counter like he usually does, he walked around. Before he was able to answer that question, Jake came over.

"Hey guys."

"Hey Jacob," Jackson and I said in unison. Jackson was speaking in his sad tone.

"Miley, I need to tell you something," Jake said, pulling me over to a ledge, closer to the beach. We sat down and Jake opened his mouthed to talk, but some paparazzi came over and started taking pictures. Annoyed, we smiled and Jake wrapped his arm around my shoulder. After a minute, Jake said "Okay, you got enough shoots, can we have a little privacy now? Thanks." Once they had left, Jake continued. "Alright, well… Frankie Muniz was gonna do this movie, and he dropped out. My mom got me the part and told me yesterday. I fly to Romania tonight."

"You're leaving… again?" I managed to ask.

"Yeah, but this time… it's only for… four months," Jake said, saying it as if four months was two weeks.

"You can't just leave, we just got together."

"Hey, it's not my fault I got a big part in a movie," Jake said shrugging.

"I guess not. Well, it is four months…" I said sighing. "So I'm gonna give you a little something extra to remember me by."

I started to lean in as if I was going to kiss him, and when Jake started to lean in, I pushed his shoulder.

"Whoa!" Jake said as he fell off the ledge. I grinned.

"That's how I plant one." I jumped off the ledge and landed gracefully next to a sand covered Jake on his back. He glared at me.

"Are you mad that I'm leaving?"

"Ya think?!"

"Sorry," Jake says as I help him up. "If it was my choice, I'd stay here, but my mom already had it planned." He brushed the sand off his body and said, "Do you and Jackson wanna meet me at the airport tonight?" he asks.

"Sure."

"Alright then, see ya at 8."

"See ya at 8."

Jake left, and I went back to Rico's.

"So did he tell you?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah," I said and realized something. "Wait, how would you know about that?"

"He told me last night," Jackson said, serving someone a smoothie.

"Oh… so are we going to the airport or what?" I ask.

"Course we are," Jackson said with a smile.

So tonight, Jackson drove me to Malibu International Airport. After he parked, we went inside the building to find Jake. He was standing next to his parents. Jackson and I walked over and the first thing I did, was pull Jake into a huge hug.

"Well, we should be going now," Mr. Ryan said while checking his watch. "Bye Jake."

"Bye sweetie," Mrs. Ryan said, kissing his cheek. "Now remember, listen to your director while you're on set. When you get off the plane, your chaperone will be waiting there. Call when you can."

"All right mom."

"I love you," Mrs. Ryan said.

"I love you too," Jake said. His parents walked away; out of the airport.

"They're seriously letting you go to Romania bye yourself?" Jackson asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, but you should meet my chaperone; not exactly fun."

"Oh, sorry man."

"No problem," Jake said. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

"We're gonna miss you too Jacob," I said.

"Miley?" Jake asked.

"Yeah Jake?" I ask. He held my hands and looked me in the eyes.

"Promise you'll wait for me?"

"Only if you don't bring some Romanian chick back to Malibu."

"I promise."

I pulled my hand away and spit into it. He shook his head while smiling and spit into his hand and we shook our hands.

"Flight 27 to Romania is now boarding," the intercom said.

"Well, this is goodbye," Jake said. He and Jackson man hugged, and then he turned to me with open arms. I automatically went into his warm embrace. He pulled away.

"I'll see ya guys in 4 months okay?"

"Okay," I replied.

"Bye Jacob," Jackson and I said in unison as he walked towards the direction of his plane.

We walked to the car in silence. Tears slid down my cheeks as Jackson drove us home. I went straight to my room and turned on the radio. I laid down on my bed, closing my eyes and listening to the familiar song.

_Hear me  
Hear me_

_You gotta be out there  
You gotta be somewhere  
Wherever you are  
I'm waiting  
'Cause there are these nights when  
I sing myself to sleep  
And I'm hopin' my dreams  
Bring you close to me  
Are you listening?_

_Hear me  
I'm cryin' out  
I'm ready now  
Turn my world upside down  
Find me  
I'm lost inside the crowd  
It's getting loud  
I need you to see  
I'm screaming for you to please  
Hear me  
Hear me_

_Hear me  
Can you hear me?  
Hear me_

_I used to be scared of  
Letting someone in  
But it gets so lonely  
Being on my own  
No one to talk to  
And no one to hold me  
I'm not always strong  
Oh, I need you here  
Are you listening?_

_Hear me  
I'm cryin' out  
I'm ready now  
Turn my world upside down  
Find me  
I'm lost inside the crowd  
It's getting loud  
I need you to see  
I'm screaming for you to please  
Hear me_

_I'm restless and wild  
I fall, but I try  
I need someone to understand  
Can you hear me?  
I'm lost in my thoughts  
And baby I've fought  
For all that I've got  
Can you hear me?_

_Hear me  
I'm cryin' out  
I'm ready now  
Turn my world upside down  
Find me  
I'm lost inside the crowd  
It's getting loud  
I need you to see  
I'm screaming for you to please  
Hear me  
Hear me  
Hear me  
Hear me  
Can you hear me?  
Hear me  
Hear me  
Hear me  
Can you hear me?  
Oh, oh, oh, oh...  
Hear me  
Hear me  
Hear me_

Last time Jake left, as in the sixth grade. It was totally different; I thought it was for good. This time, he'll come back, and we will finally be together again.

"Hey bud," dad said as he entered the room.

"Hey dad," I replied.

"I heard about Jacob, and I thought you need some of my famous loco hot cocoa."

"Thanks dad," I said and took the cocoa. Then he left.

As I drank the cocoa, I looked at a picture of Jacob and me from sixth grade. I never took it out of the box until recently, because I was still mad at him for leaving. I finished the cocoa and went straight to bed.

"_Miley," mom said as she shook me gently to wake me up._

"_Uh…" I said tiredly. I opened my eyes and sprang up. "Mom!" I hugged her tightly._

"_Hey honey," mom said, hugging back. "I heard Jacob."_

_I let go and laid back in bed. "Oh."_

"_You don't have to worry Mile, those four months will be over before ya know it."_

"_What if he finds someone else?" I ask._

"_He promised, didn't he?"_

"_Well… yeah…"_

"_Then don't worry, Jacob's a sweet guy."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_You didn't think I'd forget your first boyfriend, did you?"_

"_No."_

"_Plus, he's a good actor if I do say so myself," mom said. "Dude, I slayed you once, don't make me slay you again."_

"_Okay mom, I get it," I said while laughing._

"_Well sweetie, I have to go see your father and Jackson," mom said. "I gotta remind that man not to give you hot cocoa before bed."_

"_Bye mom, I love you," I said._

"_I love you too Miley," mom said before disappearing._

I woke up the next morning. The sun was pouring into my room from my window. I got up and looked out my window and onto the beach.

Four months will be over before ya know it. 

Mom's words played over in my head.

And I believed them.

The End.

A/N: I can't believe the story is over! Lol. I really hope you guys like the ending. I'd like to thanks all you guys that reviewed, you're awesome! So… sequel? Btw, have any of you seen the Achey Jakey Heart commercial. I have, it's so awesome! I had to watch TV all day though cause they barely showed it. I can't wait for the 24th, apparently, Jake's gonna find out Miley is Hannah!!!


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